


The One Where Bruce is Natasha's Weakness

by JinxQuickfoot



Series: Weaknesses [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers - Freeform, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Black Widow - Freeform, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Captives, Escape Plans, Hulk - Freeform, Hurt Bruce Banner, Kidnapped Bruce Banner, Kidnapped Natasha Romanov, Kidnapping, Protective Natasha Romanov, Torture, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:22:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23294671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JinxQuickfoot/pseuds/JinxQuickfoot
Summary: Natasha didn’t let her face show her contempt. There would always be new ways of hurting people. And none of them would ever work on her.Her faith in that statement crumbled the moment the sheets were down. Whatever she had been expecting, even in her worst nightmares, didn’t compare to seeing a scruffy scientist, dressed only in a pair of familiar shorts, on his knees with his head in his hands.----------------------------------------------------------------------------The KGB come back for Natasha, and an unfortunate Bruce Banner gets captured with her.
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Natasha Romanov, Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov
Series: Weaknesses [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1672462
Comments: 17
Kudos: 147
Collections: Weaknesses





	The One Where Bruce is Natasha's Weakness

**Author's Note:**

> Day 4 of the "Weaknesses" writing challenge. 
> 
> Three things. Thing the first: This one gets a little intense so be prepared for that.
> 
> Thing the second: According to the MCU Wiki it's Romanoff, not Romanov, even though I've seen both spellings, so I'm going with Romanoff for now. 
> 
> Thing the third: This is set somewhere between Avengers (2012) and Age of Ultron, so while Bruce and Natasha aren't quite in the feelings zone yet, this could totally be read as either a precursor to that relationship or them just being good mates. Whatever floats your boat.
> 
> [Come say hi on Tumblr - I take requests!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jinxquickfoot)

Natasha Romanoff was used to torture. She was even used to torture from the KGB. Unfortunately, this time she wasn’t here by choice.

She struggled against the thick manacles anchoring her to the wall, bolted down in such a way that she couldn’t even break her thumbs to get out. Smart. But not smart enough.

They hadn’t made any moves to restraint her feet.

She was in a large, white room, empty except for some kind of device that took up most of the space, currently covered by a thick, white sheet. Every so often a dull hiss would escape from it, like air being let out of a tire. Natasha tried not to keep glancing at it. She had no doubt it was for her. Some new variant of torture they thought would break her.

She loved it when they underestimated her.

_You are made of marble._

It wasn’t long before the door to the room clicked open. A pristine woman in her early sixties entered, not a single white hair escaping the bun at the base of her neck. Two younger women, both over six feet with shoulders to match, entered with her. They flanked the curtained device while the older woman approached Natasha.

_That’s right. Just a little closer._

The woman stopped just shy of Natasha’s boots. Natasha kept her face neutral even as she felt a stab of frustration. 

_They want an interrogation? Fine. Let’s see what_ you _can get out of_ them.

“Natalia Romanova,” the woman greeted her in flawless English, which only a hint of a Russian accent. “Welcome back.” When Natasha didn’t respond, she continued. “My name is Lidia Krylov. We have some questions for you.”

Natasha let just the right amount of fear and apprehension cross her face. Let them think they scared her.

“We know you have extensive training to withstand interrogation,” Krylov went on. “And at this point, you believe you will tell us nothing. I have a great amount of respect for you, Natalia. It is a shame you left your home at the KGB for S.H.I.E.L.D before we had a chance to work together.”

_The KGB was never my home._

“And because of this respect, please know that we will not waste your time on interrogation techniques we both know you have been trained to withstand.”

The younger women were already moving closer to the obscured machine, preparing to pull off the sheets in some kind of grand reveal.

Natasha didn’t let her face show her contempt. There would always be new ways of hurting people. And none of them would ever work on her.

Her faith in that statement crumbled the moment the sheets were down. Whatever she had been expecting, even in her worst nightmares, didn’t compare to seeing a scruffy scientist, dressed only in a pair of familiar shorts, on his knees with his head in his hands.

He was contained in a large, glass-like sphere with no apparent door. Natasha’s eyes immediately went to the tubes at the top of the sphere. There were two larger ones, and a smaller one, the latter of which was aimed straight at Bruce Banner’s head.

It took every ounce of Natasha’s training to not react. Instead, she kept her voice flat, feigning disinterest. “The Hulk,” she stated, making her sound almost bored. “Congratulations. You captured the one Avenger you can’t physically hurt.”

Bruce’s head shot up at the sound of Natasha’s voice. Natasha willed herself to stay focused on Krylov, to pretend she hadn’t seen that flash of fear in Bruce’s eyes when he saw her in chains.

“We both know that’s not entirely true. The Hulk can’t be hurt, no. Banner, on the other hand…”

With a wave of her hand, one of the women beside the sphere holding Bruce pushed a button.

It happened so fast that Natasha’s brain took a few seconds to catch up to what her eyes had seen. One moment, Bruce had been looking at her, those large brown eyes trying to get her attention, and the next moment…

He was dead. Blood trickled from his forehead, eyes that were usually so full of warmth now cold.

It only lasted a couple of seconds. To Natasha, those seconds felt like a lifetime.

Krylov didn’t even bother to turn around as the Hulk filled the sphere. With a roar of fury, the beast started to pound on the walls. They didn’t even crack. At finding himself contained, the Hulk went into a frenzy, beating his large green fists again and again at his cage even as the two larger tubes began to fill the sphere with a thick red gas. Bruce once again reappeared, coughing and gasping.

“Again,” Krylov ordered.

Bruce was ready this time and ducked out of the way of the tube that fired at him.

The tube simply turned to follow the movement of his head and shot him anyway.

Natasha felt ice pierce her heart as she caught on. They were going to keep doing this to Bruce, over and over again, until she told them what they wanted to know. This time, she couldn’t prevent the flinch as she watched Bruce die, _literally die_ , only to get back up again as the alter ego he hated so much.

“Nat,” he managed to choke out as the red gas faded the second time.

“I want S.H.I.E.L.D. access codes,” Krylov said.

“Let Banner go and you can have mine,” Natasha replied. She saw Bruce look at her in shock, but she kept her eyes on Kylov. “The first half to get you inside the building. Banner goes free, and you get the rest.”

Kylov smiled at her. “You will give us all the codes now, or the machine gets turned on again. And it’s not your codes I want, Natalia. It’s Agent Barton’s.” The cold smile grew. “By now your team will have noticed you and Dr Banner’s absence and your codes will have been voided by S.H.I.E.L.D. However, Agent Barton is still a free man and, therefore, his codes are still operational.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D. agents don’t know each other’s codes,” Natasha replied cooly. “For exactly this reason.”

“Ah, but you and Barton would be the exception to that rule. You are very close, yes? He’s part of your team.” She glanced over at Bruce. "I hear you like them rather a lot. A new family, hm? That’s not how families work. You are always part of the one you were born into.”

“Barton and I work together often,” Natasha replied, not rising to Kylov’s words. “That doesn’t mean we break protocol. I don’t know his codes.”

“Very well. We will give you some time to change your mind. Would a few hours be enough?”

A few hours? Natasha saw the women turn the machine on again, forcing herself to swallow her fear as it whirred to life.

“Think on my offer, Natalia,” Kylov said as she left the room, locking the door behind her.

***

Natasha thought she knew torture. She thought that the Red Room, and then S.H.I.E.L.D., had prepared her for any horrors the other side could fathom. But nothing could have prepared her to watch Bruce die, again and again and again, only to be ripped back to life by the Hulk. The process was so fast, with no breaks, barely giving the physicist time to catch his breath before the whole horrible process was restarted again.

_Come on, Romanoff. Think._

Every time the Hulk emerged, screaming with confusion and rage, he pounded the sphere from every angle, attempting to break free, but there didn’t seem to be a weak point. He even reached for the tubes at one point, but they too were too strong even for him.

_Think think think._

It was an eternity before Kylov returned. Natasha’s wrists were raw and bleeding from where she had fought the manacles, but the KGB operatives had known exactly who they were holding prisoner, and the restraints hadn’t budged.

Kylov and the two other women entered just as the Hulk was at peak roar. Kylov signalled to the operatives, annoyed, as though the Hulk’s pain was a buzzing mosquito. The machine was turned off as Bruce collapsed back into his human form. His eyes were glazed over. The emptiness there scared Natasha almost more than the idea of Kylov turning that machine back on.

“Have you had time to consider my offer, Natalia?”

Natasha met Kylov with murder in her eyes. “Yes.”

“And?”

“You can have Barton's codes. On one condition.”

Kylov smirked. “You are in no position to be making demands.”

“Let me talk to Bruce.”

Kylov gestured at the sphere. “Fine. Talk to him.”

“Closer.”

Kylov considered her. “Fine.”

She moved closer to the machine, brushing her hands over where Bruce was sprawled on the floor, his head in his hands. Natasha’s hands curled into fists.

“A shame. Such a valuable asset. I wonder what happens to the beast’s mind if you break the man’s.” She placed her hand a millimetre away from the button. “Try anything and I leave it on for forty-eight hours. Do you understand?”

Natasha nodded.  


“I asked if you understand.”

“I understand.” _I’ll kill you, bitch._

“Good.” There was a pause, and then Kylov ordered, “Secure her feet.”

Natasha tensed as one of the operatives approached her with a second set of manacles. Her eyes calculated the distance from her, to Kylov, to the door. Could she take out these two, get her wrists free, and stop Kylov before she locked her in with Bruce?

“In case you’re thinking of trying anything, I should warn you of the machine’s failsafe.” Kylov’s hand shifted to a second button, larger than the first. “Once this I push this button, the machine cannot be turned off by any means. You could take out this whole base and Banner would still suffer indefinitely. So I’ll ask you one last time - do you understand?”

Natasha finished the calculations. She could get herself out. Just herself.

She looked at Bruce, curled into a ball in that fucking cage. Just herself wasn’t an option.

“I understand. I won’t try anything.”

Kylov nodded, satisfied. Natasha let the operative secure her feet, then held her breath as she reached for her hands. But instead of freeing her from the manacles, the operative simply detached them from the wall.

Kylov smirked at her. “You didn’t think we would free your hands, did you?”

Natasha let herself be dragged over to Bruce’s prison. She had to pull herself the last five feet, so her head was on the same level as his.

“Bruce,” she whispered. When he didn’t stir, she tried again, louder. “Bruce. Look at me.”

Her firm tone got him to look up, and her heart broke at the anguish in her friend’s eyes. “Hey,” she continued, then stopped. There were so many things she wanted to say. _I’m going to get you out of there. Everything’s going to be ok. I promise._

_I'm sorry._

Instead she said, “I can’t give them the codes, Bruce.”

It was the worst thing she had ever said, as she watched the last tiny bit of hope drain from Bruce’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” she added, out loud this time. “I’m so sorry.”

He nodded, that blank look creeping back into his eyes again.

There was a sudden pain in Natasha’s side as Kylov’s boot made contact with her ribs. “That was not our deal,” she hissed at her. The two operatives went as though to drag Natasha back to the wall, but Kylov stopped them. “No. Let her watch up close.”

Then she pushed the button to restart the machine again.

Natasha wiggled herself closer, manoeuvring herself so she could place one hand against the sphere. For a moment, Bruce uncurled himself enough to mimic the action, their hands pressed on either side of the glass. Natasha gave him the slightest nod.

She didn’t know if he saw it before his head hit the ground, an inch from her own.

She blinked away the horror, focussing on her plan. She just had to keep her hand there. _Just don’t move. That’s all you have to do. Just don’t move._

This time, when the Hulk roared to life, he saw Natasha on the ground at his feet. _Come on, big guy,_ Natasha prayed. _Smash._

With a cry of rage, the Hulk slammed his first straight towards Natasha. It slammed into the dividing wall between them. Seeing no effect, the Hulk tried again, repeatedly smashing the glass right in front of Natasha’s face until the red gas brought forth Bruce. He looked dazed, but as he saw Natasha’s waiting hand, he mirrored her action. 

Their eyes met, and Natasha willed him to see, to understand.

A spark of clarity in Bruce’s eyes told her he did.

When the Hulk returned and tried to attack Natasha again, Kylov crowed with delight. “Yes, you dumb beast, it’s all her fault!” She grinned down at Natasha. “She’s the reason you’re here. She’s the reason you’re trapped. That you’re hurting. She could make it all go away but she’s choosing not to.”

_Just don’t move._

The cycle began again. Natasha had hoped that Kylov and her operatives would leave again, but Kylov seemed to be having too much fun watching. Fine. Natasha would deal with that.

There was no way of telling how much time passed, how many cycles Bruce/Hulk went through, before the first tiny crack on the sphere appeared - right on the spot the Hulk was repeatedly smashing.

One of the operatives noticed it first, but Natasha was faster. Even with her hands and feet bound, she was still Black Widow - and that name was well earned. 

She whipped her bound feet around, knocking both operatives to the ground. She swung her legs over the neck of the closer one, grabbing her gun and making short work of the other before twisting the head between her knees until she heard a loud crack.

In her peripherals, Natasha saw Kylov raising her firearm at her. Natasha dragged the body of the dead operative closer, using it as a shield. Kylov switched tactics, placing her hand above the failsafe button. 

“Drop your gun, Natalia.”

“It’s Natasha now,” Black Widow spat at her, before ending her with a single shot between the eyes.

Freeing herself from the dead body, Natasha reared up to place her hand back in position. “Come on,” she said through gritted teeth. “A couple more. Just a couple more.”

The crack widened.

“Come on, Banner,” she said under her breath. “I know you’re in there. Be smart.” _And please don’t kill me when you’re out._

The crack widened further, but Natasha didn’t dare move her hand, to take away the target. Bruce crumpled to the floor. The Hulk got up. The Hulk swung at the crack-

Natasha dived as far as the manacles would let her as the room suddenly filled with shattered glass. Natasha felt the shards tear at her exposed face and hands, but she ignored them as the monster, now freed, towered above her.

“Hey.” Her voice was shaking. “The sun’s getting real low.”

The Hulk snorted, then roared at her again.

“I know,” she said, keeping her voice soft. “They hurt you. They hurt you because of me.”

Another roar.

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t right of them. They shouldn’t have done that.”

Hulk turned away from Natasha to survey the bodies around them.

“They’re dead,” Natasha continued. “I took care of them. So they wouldn’t hurt you anymore. Ok?”

As the Hulk turned back to her, Natasha couldn’t help but shut her eyes. Alone and chained up in a locked room with a monster. If this was to be her end, she didn’t want to see it coming.

At least she had gotten Bruce most of the way out. She had no doubt he could tear through that door - and the entire building - and find his way back to the Tower, to the team. And if that’s what she died for - saving a friend - she could be okay with that. 

But the end didn’t come.

When Natasha finally opened her eyes, she didn’t see green. “Bruce?”

“Nat.” His voice was low and rough. “Nat, I…”

He looked around at the dead bodies, the smashed machine. “Did I...?”

“No. I killed them.”

“Ok. Ok.”

He turned to look at her, those usually kind eyes still filled with pain. “You’re hurt." He scrambled over to her, examining the manacles even as his hands shook violently.

“I’m ok,” Natasha said. “Just give me a sec.”

She rolled herself over to the nearest operative, searching her pockets. Bruce saw what she was doing and came to help. 

“Bruce, I got it.” Her hands found the keys, but shaking fingers pulled them away. Bruce unlocked her hands, then her feet. The moment she was free, Natasha leaned forward and pulled him into her arms. The next moment, Bruce’s shoulders were heaving with heavy sobs. Natasha felt tears fill her own eyes as she held her friend. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. 

“Not your fault. Their fault. Never yours.”

He leaned away, wiping his face with the back of his hand. “Oh god, Nat, your wrists-”

“It’s fine. I’ve had worse sparring with Agent May. For now, we’re getting out of here.”

Bruce took a shuddering breath. “Ok.” He readied himself, but Natasha put a hand on his chest.

“I’ve gotten out of plenty of KGB bases without a Hulk to back me up.”

“Nat, if you get hurt-”

“I won’t.” When Bruce still wavered, she relented - slightly. “Code Green only as last resort. But you leave it to me until then. Ok?”

Bruce put his head in his hands in relief. “Thank you.”

Natasha retrieved the keys to the room from Kylov’s pocket and took her ammunition. She grasped Bruce’s hand as she guided him to the door. “Let’s go home, Bruce. Our family’s waiting for us.”

**Author's Note:**

> Day 4 of the "Weaknesses" writing challenge is complete! Tomorrow is Clint and Wanda. As always the writer is open to pairing suggestions because for some reason I committed to thirty of these.
> 
> So hey, I have this film and screenwriting podcast? It's called "Kill the Cat" and once a month my co-host and I and break down one of our favourite movies or tv shows and look at why they work, including Harry Potter, The Princess Bride, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and, of course, the MCU.
> 
> You can check it out on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ypaen3yM5Q&t=1s&ab_channel=KilltheCatPodcast), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/5hCprc9UCBZP4srFrBXKT1?si=ZOqdhMlVQvqV2fG5PxuvOA), or anywhere you listen to podcasts. 
> 
> And hey. You're doing great.


End file.
